Kevin Alderson, associate professor of counselling psychology, UofC

“The whole ex-gay movement is really what we’d call conversion therapy,” said Kevin Alderson, an associate professor of counselling psychology at the University of Calgary who is gay. “There is a very large psychological literature now on showing harms that conversion therapy in all its forms has created for people, from increasing the problems of shame and guilt, which is common for the entire LGBT community when they come out … to low-self esteem, increased rates of suicidality, increased problems in having intimate relationships with others, sometimes sexual difficulties because of again shame, doubt, fear and all the rest of it.” October 2012